


as you are

by bloodandcream



Series: The more the merrier [81]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Asexual Castiel, Based on a Tumblr Post, Fluff and silliness, Multi, Siren Meg, Siren Ruby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-20
Updated: 2017-02-20
Packaged: 2018-09-25 17:24:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9833792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bloodandcream/pseuds/bloodandcream
Summary: It was a known fact of legend that these waters were infested with mermaids and sirens and selkies and all manner of nasty water monsters eager to lure sailors to their deaths. That is why Castiel was the one chosen to stand watch while the other men plugged their ears with wax and kept their eyes on the oars they worked.There was wealth in trade and treasure waiting for them, if Castiel could steer the ship through these dangerous waters.





	

They could feel it in the depths long before it came, disturbing the tides as it steered through the waters. They could feel the slap of oars rippling through the waters and it called them to the surface. Several staid below, to lay in wait, and several breached the churning frothy water that beat around the dangerous rocks of the small island’s eastward cliffs. The scattering of clouds moving across the sky overhead provided erratic shade, but even a little sun was harsh to delicate pale skin.

Tossing matted braids over her shoulder, Meg heaved herself up onto one of the coarse jagged rocks, minding the delicate webbing between her fingers, wrapping her powerful scaled tail around it to lift up onto a perch where she could sprawl, breasts bared to the wind as she turned towards the approaching dot on the horizon.

Men were coming in their long wooden vessels that skimmed over waters they had no business invading.

The sirens next meal was coming.

On the rocks around her, Abaddon and Ruby and Lilith spread themselves like offerings to tempt the sailors. As one voice, their lullaby rose to drift across the winds and pull the men closer by the strings of their hearts.

Meg had been human once, although it was distant now, as if seen through the distortions of thick sea glass. But she remembered some things, she knew what the men heard in their voices. Their siren’s songs were only gentle suggestions, promises that they offered to pluck at what was desired most. Meg knew what men desired of her.

Sirens were born of violent death and the immortality of spite, after all.

As the vessel approached, their voices swelled and grew frenzied, tails beating the white-capped waves crashing against the rocks, hands lifted to reach out to the men and beg them closer.

-

It was a known fact of legend that these waters were infested with mermaids and sirens and selkies and all manner of nasty water monsters eager to lure sailors to their deaths. That is why Castiel was the one chosen to stand watch while the other men plugged their ears with wax and kept their eyes on the oars they worked.

There was wealth in trade and treasure waiting for them, if Castiel could steer the ship through these dangerous waters.

He was confident, and trusted by his men, that the siren song would not affect him. For the tales spread by what few lucky men had escaped disaster - if such tales were to be believed - told of lovely women, bare in the sunlight and clinging to rocks begging for help, who would offer themselves and promises of carnal pleasure, only for the lusts of men to be dashed to pieces against the rocks along with their ships and their bodies.

Castiel was not, however, susceptible to the lures of women, or of anyone for that matter.

It was only the wind, he thought, those first strains of a gentle lullaby, ethereal and sweet that drifted like lazy clouds over the boat. He was merely curious, for there was only a lovely song on the wind. Soon enough, he could see a small island, the curve of a cliff face impossible to approach safely.

Images began to form in his mind, scenes as if from a lively play where he was the only audience in the amphitheatre and the show was entirely for him. It was distracting, certainly, and his natural inclination to sate his curiously was a dangerous thing, but he couldn’t help warily letting the ship drift closer.

The rowers had stopped rowing, listless at their posts. The tides carried the ship forward.

Tearing himself away from the fast approaching sight of uncivil women lain across the rocks, the sharp teeth in their mouths and mossy-dark scales of their tales apparent to Castiel’s gaze as it avoided their bared chests, he moved swiftly from his watch-perch to shake a few rowers from their stupor.

Maybe they were not as clever as they thought, to plug their ears.

-

Meg squinted at the narrow, long ship that drifted towards the cliffs. It did not come in fast and blind, as most did, to crash on the rocks and offer it’s men for meat. There was someone moving frantically on board, and she could just make out rows of men swaying at their oars while the dark haired one ran around trying to call them to action, before he gave up and darted to the front of the ship, hanging off and squinting across the waters at Meg and her sisters.

“What by the skies above is that human doing?”

Abaddon sounded irritated.

“They’re just… drifting.”

Ruby sounded confused.

Meg was both.

She considered diving back into the waters to call the rest of their pod into moving out and tearing the ship apart by their own hands, when a deep voice called out to them.

“You can’t possibly have any lamb stew! Are there even sheep on this island? You’ve got fishes tails instead of legs, you haven’t got any stew!”

The four sirens blinked and looked between them. Meg shrugged her shoulders and slipped into the water, weaving through the currents to the side of the boat. Surging upward, she grabbed the lip of the rail and heaved, hanging half over it and finding a very startled man with eyes as blue as the sky staring at her.

“Stew?” She asked.

“You, you kept promising the best lamb stew I’ve ever tasted, and after so many months at sea with only dried jerky and stale bread, I am not ashamed to admit it was a little tempting.”

He was an attractive man, and Meg certainly wouldn’t mind making a toy of him, before eating him.

“But you could have anything you like of us, you need only come a little closer. My sisters, you see, they cannot swim as well as I. You must come closer, and we will give you more pleasure than you have had in your entire life.”

Lifting up on strong arms, keeping her sharp teeth hidden behind her lips and her tail below the rail, Meg leaned into his space and reached for him.

“I. Uh. No, thank you, that’s very kind of you. But we might have something to trade for food, if you have some?”

“Are you serious?”

“I’m not really interested in… that. That other thing you offered.”

“Is it… men you like? We have brothers, as well, hair like spun gold and mouths that will make you weep, you will want for nothing.”

It was a lie, they had no brothers.

“I, no. Listen, do you have any food or not? This doesn’t seem like a safe place to put in to land, we really should be moving on, I think.”

Meg pouted. She might not get what she wanted out of him, but he was strange and she desired his company. A ‘no’ simply wouldn’t do.

“We can give you fish, and oysters, there are delicious plants that grow in the depths we can offer. Come closer, come let us take care of your men.”

“Oh.” He startled and looked back at the rest of the men, some stirring at their oars and blinking confusedly. “I, that’s right, this isn’t a good idea at all.”

Reaching out to him, Meg grasped his arm and tugged, she’d pull him overboard if she had to. Just one man wouldn’t make a meal for all of them, but she desired him.

“Come with me.”

A hand clapped around her wrist and held her firmly.

“Hold on. Why don’t I take my ship around the island and look for a safe place to land, if you can promise you won’t hurt my men.”

Meg stared at him, mouth open, unable to think of anything at all to say.

“I don’t know if anyone has traded with mermaids before, I’m sure we could both profit from this.”

“We’re sirens, not mermaids.”

“Oh. The tails, I just thought…”

“Why are you immune to our song, anyway? Maybe you are not a man yourself.”

“I am a man! I told you, I simply do not… lust for the things you offer.”

“But you want food from us?”

“Gods above and below, yes.”

—

They could feel it in the depths long before it came, disturbing the tides as it steered through the waters. They could feel the slap of oars rippling through the waters and it called them to the surface.

As Meg breached the surface, she raised a hand to shield her eyes from the sun and peered at the approaching ship. There was a bright white flag hung from it’s rail that fluttered in the wind.

Just on time.

Castiel was a punctual one.

Diving, she called all her sisters to come to the surface. This would not be a fight and feast sort of day. These humans traded. They bartered. If the sirens did not hurt them, then the men were perfectly happy to pass along strange things like sharp forged sticks that were very useful and netted materials that could catch many fish at once, and in exchange the sirens brought them food.

Apparently, it was a long and arduous journey across the waters and food meant much to them.

Swimming around the island to a safer stretch of sandy beaches, the sirens heaved their goods to the shores, some grumbling about the sand getting under their scales, the lack of shade, but Castiel and his men were soon there, bringing shiny baubles and lovely things and dangerous useful things as well as the stammering flirtations some of the men dared to offer.

Meg and Ruby had gathered the tender sweet plants from the depths and the crabs that scuttled in the shallows that they knew Castiel favored, and waited for him a ways from the rest of the group.

“He’s so weird, look at his feet, that must awkward having to walk everywhere like that.” Ruby said.

Meg slapped her tail against the sand, sitting coiled on it in the shallows, sun warmed water lapping up to her belly as the waves rolled.

“It’s funny how their genitals sway between their legs, isn’t it. I liked those tight pants he wore last time.”

Ruby burst into laughter, falling backward across Meg’s lap.

Ruby was her favorite of all their sisters, and although they all shared each other and shared with each other, everyone had favorites.

“Hello.” Was the simple greeting Castiel gave, as he sat down next to them.

Ruby slid off Meg’s lap and curled around Castiel to close him in between them. He didn’t seem to mind at all.

“Here,” Meg dropped the bundle of food in Castiel’s lap, a wet leafy mess.

“Thank you. I have something you might like. Something new.”

“Something new?” Ruby parroted.

Untying a little satchel of goodies, Castiel pulled out a long wooden handle that had many fine teeth.

“Turn around, may I touch your hair?”

Ruby smiled and turned her back to him, leaning against Castiel, sighing with an exaggerated pleasure as he started to work his fingers through her hair, untangling knots and undoing braids. The object he carried looked almost like the bone picks they used to manage their hair, but it was smaller and finer.

Meg watched intently as Castiel worked through the long dark mess of Ruby’s hair, dragging the thing through it again and again and again, then twisted her hair with deft fingers to create a weave of beautiful braids.

“That’s pretty nice handiwork, for a man.” Meg told him.

“Thank you, should I do yours as well?”

“You could get your hands a lot more than my hair if you wanted.”

“Just the hair is fine.”

Twisting around on her tail and leaning against Castiel, Meg closed her eyes to the brightness of the sun and relaxed into the simple, innocent pleasure of Castiel’s fingers and his strange tooth-tool working through her rough hair.

Ruby’s long nails tickled over her belly, and Meg opened her eyes to see her sister draped across Castiel’s lap, tail still twined behind him, bringing her face to rest on the tender spot where skin turned to scale on Meg’s stomach. Ruby had eyes as light and golden as the sun, the better to see with in the deep, shimmering as she pressed a kiss to Meg’s stomach.

“Do we get to keep that pick?” Ruby asked.

“The comb?”

Castiel paused his work, fingers sinking through Meg’s hair to massage her scalp and oh it made the same shivery sensation ripple down her spine into her tail that a fun toy or a good meal could, but he was gentle and sweet and undemanding. How strange.

“It’s called a comb?” Ruby curled an arm around Meg’s waist, Castiel thoroughly trapped between their tails.

“Yes. It’s not a very fancy one, but if you like it, I could bring you more. There are different kinds.”

“Bring me a shiny one,” Meg told him.

It would be seasons before they saw the humans again, but Castiel always held true to his word and brought what was requested.

“I can do that,” he murmured, distracted, tugging at strands of her hair and weaving them into something complicated.

“I wonder if we could find a lamb for you.”

Meg wasn’t entirely sure what a lamb was. She didn’t remember much from being a human, vague emotions and angers, she couldn’t remember what it was like to walk on two legs. Or what, exactly a lamb was. But the contented ease of trust between her, her sister, and Castiel, it felt like something long missing or buried in murky sands.

“Ah, you don’t need to do that. I like the fish you catch.”

“Would a fish stew be good?”

Castiel paused in consideration, “Do you even have anything to cook with?”

Ruby rolled her eyes, “How hard can it be?”

“Don’t worry yourselves about it,” Castiel said, resuming the soothing repetitions of his fingers pulling Meg’s hair this way and that. “I like things just as they are.”

Meg was startled to realize that despite the things she thought she wanted from him, that yes, yes she did like things just as they were.


End file.
